Wednesday, 21 May 2014

#BringBackOurGirls : ''Girls To Be Held Until Prisoners Are Released” - Boko Haram Member Speaks (Watch)

A member of Nigerian militant group Boko Haram,
responsible for the abduction of nearly 300
schoolgirls, tried to justify the targeting of children and warned of
more kidnappings in an interview with CBS News. He calls himself Saleh
Abubakar and claimed he’s been a member of the group for seven years. "You see the enemies
among the children, it's acceptable to fire on all of them. You cannot
differentiate the children," Saleh Abubakar told CBS News contributor
Debora Patta.

Although very nervous at
first, Abubakar was brazen enough to walk though heavy security and police
cordons to speak to CBS News. This was in line with what a source connected to
the group had said, that Boko Haram moves freely around the country and is
integrated into many levels of society.

Abubakar said the abduction of
the girls was in planning stages for three months.

He claimed to have seen the
abducted girls three weeks ago and said they are fine. When asked about reports
of the girls being sick and requiring medical attention, Abubakar denied them.

"No, it's lie. They don't
have problem at all," he said.

He told CBS News nothing will
happen to the girls as long as the government releases
Boko Haram fighters being held in Nigerian jails.

He refused to say whether the
girls had been moved across the border and claimed they would no longer be sold
as slaves because they had all converted willingly to Islam.

The Nigerian Government said
Boko Haram is linked to al Qaeda, but Abubakar would not confirm if al Qaeda
funds their terrorist group.

"No, no, I am not going
to tell you anything about this, but they are my brothers in Islam. Even in
America, we have brothers," Abubakar said.

For several days now there have been suggestions that
some of the girls may be released, but there was no sense of urgency from
Abubakar. Sources say the government and Boko Haram are still trying to hash
out a back door deal, but for the parents of the girls this will be of little
comfort, as their children have been missing for five weeks now.